The battle of love and happiness
by alice2998
Summary: Emilia Aurora Romolo, princess of Archenland is everything a princess should be. Compassionate, charming and humorous. When she meets the Pevensie siblings, her life changes enormously. She will find love and friendship. But as we know nothing can last forever...
1. Chapter 1

The battle of happiness and love

Prologue

Life isn't always what it seems to be. I know what you might think. I'm a princess, I get everything I want and I am able to life my life without a care. Everything is perfect. I live in a world consisting of butterflies, unicorns and rainbows. But truth be told, that is so not the truth. I may appear spoiled and unthankful but that is only my way of hiding how I really feel. My real me is perfectly hidden under the walls I started to build after my mother's death. She was everything a mother should be. She was the person that caught me whenever I fell, she was the person that told me that heritage isn't everything in life and that true beauty lies in a person's character not in their appearance and she would be really disappointed in me, if she was still here to prevent me from mistakes. You don't know why she would be disappointed? Well, let me tell you:

As a little girl I was every parents' dream. I was innocent, joyful and according to others, the most beautiful girl they've ever laid eyes on. They expected me to follow the traditions of our country and wanted me to be the next heir after my father's death, even though I wasn't a boy. With every passing day I became more curious and more beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I'm really not a bigheaded person, but even I can't deny my good looks. I inherited almost everything from my mother, I have her beautiful, wavy, dark blonde hair, her slim but curvy figure and her beautiful face. The only things that I inherited from my father are his unique ice-blue eyes and his mischievous smile. While I inherited my mother's beauty, I got my father's personality. I love to pull pranks and no day passes without me getting in trouble. Thankfully my charm is able to prevent me from too horrible punishment. Oh and before I forget it, I'm not an only child. I've got two younger brothers. The older one is called Antonio. He's only one year younger than me and together the both of us are unstoppable. My youngest brother Alessandro is 3 years younger than me. Even though he appears stuck-up and cocky, he can be a good person to talk to when you have problems. Our family was perfect, like a fairytale. But then everything changed. My mother got really sick and had only a few more months to live but she didn't want to think about her illness, she did not want us to worry. Till her death she lived everyday like there wouldn't be another one to follow. When she entered a room, everything felt lighter and more vibrant. She was the light in the darkness. That light is gone now… She is gone…Her death did not only take our happiness away, no, it also ripped my heart out of my chest. Everything felt so cold without her presence and most of all I felt alone. My brothers needed me. I had to be strong for them and even though I was mourning, I never cried, not even at her funeral. My father wasn't present anymore. After her death he became a shell of the person he was before. His eyes did no longer look full of life and mischief. They looked empty and dead. Deciding that it was too hard for us to live in the same castle mother died at, we moved.

Our new home is located in Archenland. The castle we lived in before is nothing compared to the palace that we live in now. Everything is green and colourful and the palace is surrounded with magnificent gardens. The palace also has enough room for a lot of guests and is located in front of a waterfall which I am able to see, when I stand on my balcony. It is easier now that we've moved. We can all have a new start. Father is slowly becoming the person he was before mother's death and Antonio and Alessandro are back to their old ways. Antonio and I go out on a ride every morning. If father would know that he would throw a fit. He is a lot more protective of us and does not like it when we leave the castle without guards. And all that because of his theory that mother did not die because of a sickness but because she was poisoned. If you ask me that makes no sense. She did not have enemies. Everyone loved her. But my father is very much believing in his theory, so I won't disagree. He is hell bound on finding out, who the person was that killed his wife. But that is not his only worry because right now he has a ball to plan and that without my mother's help…..


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Cair Paravel

(Pov: Edmund)

Still half asleep, I hear loud sound coming from my door. Who dares to wake me up this early in the morning? Does no one have mercy on me? After attending the third ball in one week, a man needs his sleep. "Edmund, if you don't get up within three minutes, then I will personally drag you out of your bed to breakfast!" Susan's pleasant voice screamed from the other side of the door. After trying unsuccessfully to get back to sleep, I reluctantly got up and walked into the bathroom. Let me tell you, getting dressed while you are still tired is not very nice. I must look like a zombie after going to bed so late. Still half asleep, I walk out of my room only to find Susan standing in the corridor with a disapproving look on her face. "Took you long enough", was her only command. Deciding that I'm still too tired to start an argument, I just walk after her to the dining room. Everyone was already there. Peter and Lucy look our way when we descended the stairs to the dining room and immediately turn their attention elsewhere, sensing my bad mood. I am so tired right now that I am not even able to eat breakfast. I should really change my sleeping habits. " We got a letter today.", Peter says, sitting opposite to me, "King Romolo is inviting us over to his new estate in Archenland. He's having a ball in 3 weeks and invited us to come 2 weeks before the big event." Peter looks at us to see any objection. "Well, I'm all for going there. I heard he has 3 children. Two boys one girl. Since I've never met any of them, it would be nice to get to know them. " Lucy looks at Susan and me with excited eyes. Honestly, I was as excited as Lucy. I've never met anyone of the Romolo family but I heard a lot about the king's and his children's kindness. Peter met him once and said that king Romolo is easy to talk to. They fought together in a battle and are quite good friends since then. After sensing no protest, Peter writes a letter back, announcing our coming within the next two days.

(Pov: Peter)

I'm actually surprised that king Romolo wrote me. After I found out about his wife's death I visited him and found him sitting in his throne with dead and empty eyes. Emilia, his daughter, had already warned me that he wasn't behaving like himself but I never expected him to be that bad. Back then I tried to engage him in conversations but nothing helped. Hopefully he feels better by now. I remember meeting his wife once. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out. Now when I think about it, Emilia resembles her a lot. I don't know much about her but she seems to be a decent person. The only time I really spoke with her, was the day I visited her father Guiseppe. I still remember our little talk, word by word.

_Arriving at the castle of Guiseppe, I got off my horse and made my way over to the young woman standing at the entrance of the castle. "Hello, I'm High King Peter. You must be Guiseppe's daughter Emilia." She tried to smile but ended making a grimace. She curtsied and spoke up "I'm very thankful for your coming, your highness. My father has not been acting like himself these last few days and I'm worried about his well being. He barely eats or talks, so I thought that I should call a good friend of his for help. Maybe he will listen to you. It's worth a try." She looked in my direction with a worried look on her face. " I will try my best princess Emilia. Maybe talking to a friend is exactly what he needs." I gave her a reassuring look and patted her arm gently. "Thank you, your majesty. I really appreciate your coming. And please call me Emilia." " Only if you call me Peter." I smiled at her and she smiled back. With that I bid her goodbye and made my to Guiseppe._

I don't know why but thinking about her makes my heart skip a beat. She definitely is a special girl. I hope she still remembers me when we come.

Back in Archenland:

"Father you asked for me?" Emilia asks, sounding confused. "Yes my child. I wanted to let you know that we will have guests coming over in two days. High King Peter and his siblings. I invited them to come earlier, so I can catch up with my dear friend and you and your siblings will get know the Queens and Kings of Narnia." I smile up at him and am able to see his eyes alive and happy. He is starting to recover. Everyone around me is starting to get better. They seem to forget mom's death so easily. It is so unfair… I miss her so much and they just move in after some time. I was the one that was there for them, the one holding them when they cried. All this time I held back but I don`t think that I'm able to hold back any longer. The walls I built around my feelings are starting to crack. But I will never let them break. "That was a good idea father. Now if you will excuse me, I have some things to do." Ready to walk out of my father's study, I turn around, only to walk into a servant that just came in. "Watch where you're going!" I bark at him and storm out of the room. I feel bad about my behaviour but there's nothing that I can change, or else people will see how weak I really am. That's what I've become since my mother's death. I became weak and vulnerable. I lost my spirit…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

(Pov: Lucy)

Our journey to Archenland is more exhausting than I thought it to be. Hopefully we will get there within the next few hours. The landscape surrounding us is gorgeous. Everything looks so alive and fresh. I can't wait to meet everyone there. I've heard so many stories about the princess' beauty and about her amazing character. Before we left Cair Paravel Peter informed us about the Queen's death two months ago. He told us how hard her death was for the Romolo family and that we shouldn't ask any questions about the dead Queen. I really feel for them. I don't know how I would feel, if any of my siblings died. I would be devastated. Even the thought of my family passing away makes feel empty. I can only guess how the Romolo's must feel… Maybe it isn't such a bad idea for us to visit them. I can try and cheer them up. Everyone deserves some happiness in their lives. We will all probably become great friends. Surely Susan, Edmund and Peter think the same. The closer we get to the palace, the more excited I become. I'm more than ready to face the Romolo family.

Back in Archenland:

"What about a short ride in the woods?"My brother Antonio walks up to me with a roguish grin on his handsome face. His eyes show me that he's up to no good, like always. "No Antonio! I'm not in the mood for any trouble right now." Truth be told, I would love to take a ride through the woods, but I'd rather do that on my own. " Oh come on Mia. You know that you want to come with me on a ride. Just admit it, you are scared to get in trouble." He is standing in front of me with a smug grin on his face. "Stop looking so smug or I will personally wipe that stupid smirk off your face! And for your information: . ! Go bother someone else!" I swear to god that boy knows how to get a rise out of me. But I won't let him persuade me, never. "Mia come on, don't be such a buzz kill. Just come with me. I swear we won't get in any trouble. The Kings and Queens of Narnia won't arrive anytime soon. We will be back before they arrive, promise." Actually he isn't so wrong. The Pevensie's won't be here anytime soon. Nothing is holding me back. And even if they would arrive, I've never let anything stop me. "Fine, let's go!" Antonio's smile turns into a big childlike grin when he grabs my hand and runs together with me through the castle's corridors. Carefully, so no one catches us, we walk over to the stables and mount our horses. Grinning at each other we make our way over to the forests. After getting further into the woods, our little ride turns into a competition. We race each other and we jump over fallen branches which leads us to totally forgetting the time. After realizing that we've been in the woods far too long, we race each other back to the palace. Once we got there, we see a carriage standing at the entrance. "Damn it! They are already here! What should we do? Father and Alessandro are going to kill us." Antonio looks at me with a panicked expression. "Don't panic. I thought that you weren't afraid of trouble brother. You can be such an pansy. We will just bring the horses back to the stables and then runs as fast as we can to the entrance. Just pretend that we've been there the whole time. When someone asks where we were, I will take care of it." Antonio smiles gratefully at me and we make our way over to the stables. We put our horses back into their barns and ran as fast as we could to the gate in front of our palace. Arriving there we are able to see the Kings and Queens of Narnia descending their carriage. We run up to Alessandro who already stood in front of the carriage, ready to welcome our guests. He looks at Antonio and I with a disapproving look and turns his attention back to the Pevensie's. My father is already at their side greeting them and introducing himself. Antonio and I just stand next to each other and try to look as innocent as possible. We really did not need a scolding from father right now. Deciding that it I should introduce myself, I walk over to my father and stop in front of the Pevensie's. The first person to notice me, is the smallest of the four siblings. "Hello I'm Lucy. I've heard so much about you and your family. I'm really excited to meet you." She looks at me with a heart melting smile. She reminds me a bit of myself when I was younger. I also used to get excited when meeting new people. "It is a pleasure to meet you Lucy. I'm Emilia. I hope your journey to Archenland was enjoyable." I look at her and smile. "Oh our journey was very interesting. I was really amazed when I saw the beautiful landscape of Archenland. I've never seen something that beautiful, not even back in Cair Paravel. " "Oh, then you will certainly enjoy a ride through the woods in the morning at sunrise. The forest looks magical when the sun starts to rise. I remember how stunned I was when I took my first ride in the woods at sunrise. Maybe we are allowed to go on a ride before dinner, so I can show you my favourite parts of the forest and you can get know Archenland a little better." She beams at me and nods totally ecstatic. I just laugh to myself and move on to the young woman standing next to her. That probably is Queen Susan, I thought. "Hello I'm Emilia. You must be Queen Susan. It's nice to meet you." I smile at her and she returns my gesture. "It's nice to meet you too. I see you and Lucy already got to know each other, she seems to like you." "Yes she is a wonderful girl. I suggested that we go on a ride through the forest before dinner. If you want to come as well, then you are invited to join us and I will show you around a bit." "That is very kind of you. But I must decline your offer. I am really tired and wish to rest a bit. Maybe another time." I smile at her and walk over to the two kings standing in front of my father. Seeing me approaching them, my father takes my arm and introduces me to the two Kings. "May I introduce you my daughter Emilia." "It is nice to finally meet you Princess. We've both heard so much about you. I'm King Edmund the Just, but you can just call me Edmund." He seems to be quite charming if you ask me and he isn't so bad looking either. "I will call you Edmund, if you call me Emilia." He smiles and kisses the back of my hand. Realizing that I started to blush, I quickly step in front of King Peter who already has a smirk on his face. "So we meet again King Peter. I hope you are well." "What did I tell you the last time we met? You can call me Peter. We don't need the formalities." I smile at him and nod. He also kisses the back of my hand which leads me to blush again. Seriously what is wrong with me? After Antonio and Alessandro also introduced themselves, we all walked inside the palace. "Let me show you to your rooms. The maids already prepared everything for you this morning." I walk ahead of them and show them to their rooms. "Dinner will be ready at six, so you still have some time to get settled. Oh and Lucy before I forget it. If we want to take a ride before dinner, we need to leave in half an hour to get back in time." She smiles and nods in my direction and then runs into her room. Before disappearing completely behind her door, she pokes her head out again. "Could you pick me up in half an hour? I don't know where the stables are." I smile and nod. Then I turn my attention back to the two men standing in front of me. "Would you two like to join Lucy and I on our ride?" They look at each other and then back at me and then say simultaneously: "We would love to." Laughing I tell them that I will pick them up as well in half an hour and walk into my own room to get ready for the ride.

_I'm sorry for any mistakes but English isn't my native language. I try to do my best at avoiding any mistakes.:)Thanks for reading alice _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

(Pov: Edmund)

As I watch her retreating figure, all I can think about are Emilia's stunning ice-blue eyes. They are the most unique and beautiful eyes I have ever seen. But the thing that intrigues me the most are the emotions that flicker through her eyes. I may not really know her but it doesn't take a genius to notice that Emilia is holding something back. It's like she's hiding something, something that she doesn't want others to know. Maybe I will be able to reach her like the others aren't able to, maybe I can make her trust me. I don't know what it is but something just pulls me to her. The moment that she stepped in front of me, I could feel my pulse quickening and I felt kind of weird. I was so nervous but at the same time ecstatic to meet. Another troubling thing is the fact that her smile did not reach her eyes. I don't know if I'm the only one who noticed it but her smile looks forced. The moment she smiled, I made a promise to myself: I would make her smile a real smile. Her smile and her eyes aren't the only things that I noticed. I also noticed the way Peter looked at her. His whole face lit up when she stepped in front of him, but she didn't seem to notice it. In that moment I got this strange feeling. Was it jealousy? But why should I be jealous of Peter? He is after all my brother. And even though I don't tell him that, I'm really glad to have him as a brother. I think he fancies Emilia… Why does this thought sound so wrong? I don't fancy Emilia, do I?

(Pov: Emilia)

Deciding that it is time to leave, I make my way over to the chambers, the kings and queens were residing in. After getting Lucy, the both of us make our way over to the kings' chambers. We split up, one of us fetching Edmund and the other fetching Peter. I knocked on the door and not even one second passed when Edmund opened the door with a big grin. "Emilia" He smirked at my blush when he kissed my hand for the second time this day. "Edmund" I say in the same tone he greeted me with and together we walk over to Lucy and Peter who already stood in front of the hallway leading to the gardens. I smile at Peter and we all walk to the stables. On our way there I tell them a bit about Archenland and my brothers. I really enjoy their company. They are all so easy to talk to and they don't look at me with pity-filled eyes, which is a nice change. Reaching the stables we mount the horses and start riding into the forest. It is the perfect timing if you ask me. The sun is going down right now and everything has an orange glow. It looks so magical. I don't think that I can ever get over this sight. I'm so distracted by my surroundings that I don't notice a certain king catching up with me. "A penny for your thoughts." Startled I cringe and almost fall off my horse. But Edmund is faster and catches me and helps me to get settled again. "I'm sorry I did not want to startle you. I just thought that we could talk a bit, you know get to know each other better." I look him in the eyes and all I am able to see is sincerity. "Oh don't be sorry. I should not have drifted of like that. Thank you for catching me Edmund." I smile at him and then look down feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks. He is looking at me in a really intense way. It makes my insides flutter."Your welcome. I will always catch you." By now I must look like a tomato."So Edmund, what do you want to talk about?" "What do you think about playing a little game. We ask each other a question and the other has to answer it honestly, then the other person is allowed to ask a question." "Sounds good to me. Do you want to start?" Edmund looks at me and smiles. "What is your favourite colour?" I look into his eyes and notice how enchanting they are . He has such beautiful brown eyes. "Red. Yours?" After looking for a while into each other's eyes he answers. "Blue. What is your favourite time of the year?" "Christmas. My mum always used to bake together with me and my brothers. We always ended having tons of floor in our faces. Mother always used to tell us that we shouldn't play with floor and that we should not waste it. She made us realize that there were people that are not able to bake anything, that we should be thankful for the things we have. We would always go out into the forests one week before Christmas, the whole family together. There we would choose a Christmas tree and bring it home with us. While my brothers played together with my father outside in the snow, mother and I would decorate the Christmas tree. We always enjoyed doing that. In the end the tree always ended up looking over-decorated. Father would always tease us because of that. On Christmas morning my brothers and I would have a snowball fight and we would build a snowman while breakfast was prepared." Edmund looks at me with an unreadable expression on his face. Trying to distract him from whatever he is thinking about, I ask him about his favourite time the year. It was only fair. If he was allowed to get to know my favourite time of the year, then I should get to know his. "My birthday. Every year we hold this big ball on my birthday and I don't even mind. You know usually I'm not so fond of balls. But on my birthday it is different. My friends and my family are around, I'm able to meet new people and my birthday means that I am again one step further away from being a child. I hate it when people tell me that I'm still so young. They always question my decisions and turn to Peter for advice. Don't get me wrong I love my brother but I hate to get babied. And I hate to get compared to him." I know what he means. I would not like it either, if people didn't trust in me. I may not know what it feels like to be in the shadow of my siblings but sometimes I feel like that's exactly why Alessandro is acting so distant towards me sometimes. He may be the youngest but he also is the most ambitious sibling. I don't think that he hates me or anything like that. I just feel like he is angry at me for stealing him the spotlight. People always tend to favour me. I don't know why and truth be told I don't understand why. After mother died I turned into a real prat. I may have been there for my family but I wasn't there for our country. I did not care anymore and made that really obvious. But still after everything that happened, after everything I did, people still believed in me. I may not show how much I really appreciate it but deep down in my heart, I feel proud. Proud of the people believing in me…

"Edmund you are who you are and you should be proud of it. If people don't appreciate you for who you are then they aren't worth your attention. People tend to be prejudiced, they say stupid things and they do stupid things. We all shouldn't care about the things others think of us, but we do. We do care and it does hurt us but that is exactly what makes us human."

(Pov: Edmund)

Wow, she is amazing. She may be very gorgeous but her character is even more beautiful. She is so understanding, so caring and so wise. I would have never thought that I would feel something like this but I think that I really like her, a lot. Peter and Lucy are riding behind us and trying to inconspicuously sneak glances at us. Ha, as if I wouldn't notice that. "You know Emilia your words really make sense. You are nothing like the other women I met." She blushed at my words and looked down. "Well I'm glad that you think like that." I smile at her when a good idea struck me. "Let's race each other back. The one who gets back first is allowed to redeem a favour. "All right. Let`s go!" With that she gallops away closely followed by me, leaving behind a very confused Peter and a grinning Lucy. Close to the palace I am able outpace her. When she arrives, I'm already standing there with a smug look on my face. I won which means she has to do me a favour. She looks at me with a played angry look. "Ok, what is it that you want me to do?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"_**Let's race each other back. The one who gets back first is allowed to redeem a favour. "All right. Let`s go!" With that she gallops away closely followed by me, leaving behind a very confused Peter and a grinning Lucy. Close to the palace I am able outpace her. When she arrives, I'm already standing there with a smug look on my face. I won which means she has to do me a favour. She looks at me with a played angry look. "Ok, what is it that you want me to do?" **_

(Pov: Emilia)

He is looking at me with a thoughtful expression, probably deciding what favour he wanted from me. Finally he starts to grin and wiggles his eyebrows. "You know, right now I can't think of anything that I would want you to do. Just don't forget that little favour you owe me when I come to redeem it." Truthfully I don't know if this is a bad thing or not. Why is he looking at me like that? Weird. "Fine. But don't take it too far with this favour." He smirks at me and winks."Why? Afraid that I will make you do something absolutely atrociously?" "Well when it comes to you, someone never knows. I can't be too careful, can I?" Two can play this game. "Milady, your words truly hurt me. How can you say something like that. I'm an honorable man." I must admit that he's really good at acting but so am I. "Well then milord I won't have anything to worry about." I take a step towards him and look at him with the most innocent look I could achieve. Edmund gulps and looks at me with big brown eyes. Oh these eyes, so brown, so hypnotizing….No! I need to stay focused. "You would not want to break my confidence in you, would you milord? That would be truly a pity." I take another step towards him, realizing that he's starting to get nervous. We stand so close to each other right now that I'm able to see the light freckles across the bridge of his nose. He clears his throat in an effort to get his voice back but clearly fails to do so. I win! "It's really getting late Edmund. We should go inside, if we want to be on time for dinner." I step back from him and look at him with a triumphant smirk. Getting out of his trance Edmund looks at me with a competitive look in his eyes. "Believe me when I say that I will get back at you for this. I did not win this race without a reason. My victory shows that I am way more awesome than you." When he says this, I can clearly see him trying to smother a laugh. "Pf…As if! You only won because you cheated." "I did not! I won because of my perfect skills in horseback riding, skills that you lack of." He looks at me with a played scowl. Pretending to be offended, I just shake my head at his antics and walk away from him. "Okay fine. I am really sorry. I know how awesome you are. But you have to realize that I'm the awesomest person that exists. No one can beat me." "Awesomest is not even a word Edmund. I'm really starting to doubt your awesomeness." He looks at me insulted but before he can say something Peter and Lucy finally arrive. "Why is Edmund looking like someone stole his sweets?" "Oh don't worry Peter. He just realized that I'm way more awesome than him. You know, hurt ego and all." Edmund again turns to me and wants to say something but is interrupted by Peter's and Lucy's loud laughing. "Fine you guys, why don't you just gang up on me?" I look at him and reply: "I thought we already did." Edmund pouted and started to fake cry. Peter, Lucy and me fall into hysterics upon seeing Edmund pout. "Come on, let's bring the horses back and then go to dinner. It's already really late." They nod and follow me to the stables. After bringing the horses back we all walk into the dining room in which my brothers already stand. "I see you guys had fun." "Oh yes we did. I beat Emilia in our race back to the castle and now she owes me. Let me tell you she took her lost not very well." "That is so not true! He won because he cheated and I'm not a sore loser!" Antonio chuckles at us and just shakes his head. "Believe me Edmund. I know how Mia can be. We once played in the garden when we were younger. We made a bet on who's going to have the nicest and biggest sand castle. Of course I won. She was so angry that she threw sand at me and called me a stupid cheater. You should have seen her face." Everyone is in hysterics by now and I just glare at them. Fine, if Antonio wants to have story time then he will get story time. "Oh yeah and do you remember that one summer. When was it again? Oh right, last year. Antonio wanted to impress one of the duke's daughters and thought the best way to do so, was with showing of. He took every chance he could to encounter them. And on one afternoon Tony, Sandro and I decided to go to the beach and just relax for a bit. What we didn't know was that Tony only wanted to go there because of this one girl. We spent our time laying in the sun and after some time we all drifted off into a light slumber. I awoke to find my two brothers still sleeping and an idea struck me. I put make-up on Tony's face and waited for him to wake up. After he awoke I proposed a walk along the beach. On our little walk, we passed the duke's daughters who already stood there laughing their heads off at the sight of my brother. Tony, not realizing what was going on, walked up to them and asked: "Hey ladies, care to explain what you are laughing about?" They just stood there and pointed at his face unable to speak. Tony did not get why they were laughing until we were at home. There he saw what everyone was laughing about and almost started crying from embarrassment and anger. He did not leave the house for two weeks." While the others laugh at Tony, he just glares at me. I wink at him and smirk. Before anyone could say something else my father enters the room and we all start eating in silent laughter.

The adolescents sitting at the table are so engrossed in eating that they fail to notice the knowing look on the king's face and the twinkle in his eyes. His family is starting to heal. He can already see the small change in Emilia. Her eyes are starting to shine again…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(Pov: Edmund)

Yesterday was awesome. After dinner Emilia went out for a walk through the gardens and I decided to join her. We talked about our childhood and about our siblings and I realized that she is different to every girl I have ever met. When we talk I don't have to be careful with my choice of words and I don't have to be afraid of saying my opinion out loud. I can be myself without her prejudicing me and I really like that, a lot.

Today we will all go to the market and Emilia and her brothers will show us a bit more of Archenland. Their father will stay in the palace and take care of some "important matters". Deciding that it is probably time for breakfast, I walk out of my room and crash right into a body.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry. I was just about to knock on your door and fetch you for breakfast." Emilia stood in front of me looking totally embarrassed with a sheepish look on her face

"Don't worry, no harm done. You are allowed to crash into me as often as you want." I wink at her and notice with pleasure the light blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Are you flirting with me King Edmund?" She asks me with a confident smile on her face.

"Why Princess… you enjoying it?"

She turns her face away from me and looks in another direction but I am still able to see the small smile on her gorgeous face.

"We should really go to breakfast now. We have lot of stuff ahead of us today. And as I know you, you will want to eat something before we leave."

Together we walk into the dining room, where everyone is already eating and talking. Everyone has exciting smiles on their faces and is chatting away happily. They don't even notice us entering the room. Good.

"So Emilia, care to share the plan for today? Where will we go after visiting the market?"

"That, my dear Edmund, I can't tell you but you will find out when we get there. All I can say for now is that you and your siblings are going to love our little excursion."

"Will you at least tell me what I should wear?"

She smirks at me and then answers. "Your normal attire will do. We won't be going anywhere too fancy."

Giving up with finding out where we will go today, we eat our breakfast in silence with a few smiles being shared. After everyone is finished with eating, we all stand up and go into our rooms. We all still have an hour before we will go. What should I do now? I am bored…

(Pov: Emilia)

I turn around startled when I hear a knock on my door.

"You may come in."

After saying those words, a very smug looking King walks into my chambers.

"Well my Princess how nice of you to allow me to enter your room. You should really ask who is standing in front of your room before letting anyone in. It could have been a delinquent or maybe even a monster."

I laugh at his played worry and his enraged expression. He put son a charming smile and then walks up to me.

"What is it that you want?"

"Why do I disturb you? I thought you were my friend!" He looks at me with a playful pout and takes a few steps closer to me. "I just came by to see what you are doing, you know. I'm bored senselessly and I don't have anything to do."

"I'm sorry but I can't be of any help. I have to get changed before we leave and that will take quite t a while since all the maids are having a free day today. The laces on my corset will take a lot of time."

"You know… I could help you with those laces. I would have something to do and you would be finished faster."

"Are you serious?!" I look at him doubtfully. As if I would let him help me with getting dressed. Sometimes I really don't want to know what that boy is thinking…

"I swear I don't have any inappropriate intentions and it's not like I didn't do this before."

I just raise my eyebrows. What does he mean with that?

"Oh my god, I did not mean it like that. I already helped Lucy or Susan with their dresses." His face turned red from embarrassment. "You do realize that you have a really dirty mind Emilia."

Now it's my turn to get all red. "Fine Edmund. I will allow you to fasten the laces on my corset. But no funny business! Promise!"

"Yeah, yeah… I promise."

I smile at him and walk over to my closet. "Would you please turn around?" He just nodded and did what I asked him to do. I take the dress that I am currently wearing off and put a new one on. After that I walk over to Edmund and try to hold the dress in place with the help of my hands. Turning my back to him I say: "You can turn around." After some time, I can feel Edmund's hands gently tying the laces in my back. I am able to feel his warm breath on my neck and get a bit dizzy. His hands move skillfully over the fabric of my dress and after some time he is finished with the corset.

"Is it alright that way?" Edmund asks.

I turn around and look at him with a thankful smile on my face.

"Yes, thank you very much Edmund. If I did this on my own, I would probably still stand here and try to fasten the laces."

He just smirks at me and then takes a hold of my arm and guides me out of my room.

"Since we still have a lot of time until our departure, I think we should do something useful. Are you up for a little game of hide and seek?"

Suddenly an idea strikes me. And I walk closer to him.

"Oh yes, I would be delighted to play hide and seek. Maybe we can even get the others to play with us, if they are finished with getting ready. But first of all…", I walk a few steps ahead of him and then start running, "you will have to catch me!"

He laughs and takes off after me. "I sure will catch you princess. As you know, I'm the awesomest person that exists."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(Pov: Peter)

As my sisters, Emilia's brothers and I walk out to the gardens, I am able to hear laughter coming from the direction we are walking to.

"Hey, that is not fair. You threw a branch at me. How am I supposed to run when I get things thrown my way. That branch could have killed me!" That was Edmund but what is he doing down here? And who is he talking to?

"Ha, as if. That tiny little branch could not even have hurt a fly. You are just searching excuses for your miserable catching skills." Was that Emilia? What catching skills? I need to find out what is going on and that fast.

"My miserable catching skills? Are you kidding me? I am a champion in this game. How dare you insult my awesome catching skills?" After that I can hear more laughing coming from Emilia. I don't know why but the thought of Edmund making Emilia laugh arouses a weird feeling in my stomach. Am I jealous? Of Edmund? Impossible.

"Yeah right. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

We are almost there. Just a few more steps and we will arrive in the gardens. Suddenly I hear a surprised scream, followed by Edmund's booming laugh.

"I told you that I was going to get you. Once a champion, always a champion. What is my price?"

Finally we are there and I am able to see what exactly is going on in the gardens. I can see Edmund and Emilia standing in front of a rather old looking tree, surrounded by beautiful roses. Edmund has both of his arms wrapped around Emilia and Emilia has hers wrapped around his neck.

"I don't know. I wasn't aware of the fact that you would get a price for winning. What do you have in mind?" Looking away from them for a short moment, I am able to see the others looking at Edmund and Emilia with glee in their eyes. Right now the only thing I can think of is how close my brother and Emilia are standing to each other and how well they seem to get along. They seem so comfortable around each other that it makes me sick to my stomach.

"Hm… I would have quite a few things in mind." Edmund responds and leans down ready to close the distance between him and Emilia. Ok, this is enough. I won't let that happen in front of my eyes. I take a step closer to them and clear my throat. They jerk away from each other and start to blush.

"May I ask, what exactly you guys are doing down here?" I look at them with a bewildered expression on my face.

"Oh you know we just walked a bit through the gardens and after some time I made Edmund catch me. That's it, nothing more to it, nothing less." Emilia looks at me with innocent eyes and I start to forget why exactly we are here in the first place. Her eyes are just so hypnotizing, so gorgeous. I can't even describe them with words.

"Well, if that is settled then. We should go now, otherwise the market will be closed when we arrive there." Antonio interrupts my thoughts about Emilia.

"Right, we should go. I totally forgot the time" With that being said, Emilia walks past me and enters one of the awaiting carriages. Maybe I am lucky enough to catch a ride with her. With that thought in my mind I walk over to the carriage Emilia is sitting in and ask for permission to join her.

"Of course Peter. We haven't got the time to catch up yet. It's been quite a while since we've talked to each other." She smiles at me and I sit down opposite to her.

"So do tell me how life has been since I last saw you!"

"Truth be told nothing too exciting has happened. The last few weeks have been filled with one ball after another. It was rather exhausting if you ask me but I still do enjoy them. I was rather surprised when I got the letter from your father though. The last time I saw him he was rather annoyed with my presence."

"I was rather surprised myself when father told me that visitors would come. He hasn't been so joyful for a long time Peter. The father I once had is slowly starting to show again and I am so thankful for that. It was so hard to see him, to look him in the eyes because that showed me that I did not only lose my mother but also my father. It made me second-guess myself and it made me doubt hope."

She looks at me with sad eyes when she tells me this but I can also see happiness in them. Happiness because of her father's change.

"It may take him a while but I am 100 percent sure that your father will become himself again. He will be the father that he used to be … And you know why I am so sure of that? Because his very strong and brave daughter is sitting in front of me and she did not give up either. She fought and stayed strong and now, look at you… Your mother would be so proud of you if she was still here."

As I say this, I see tears running down her cheeks. I want to embrace her so badly right now but I don't think that that would be appropriate.

"Thank you Peter . What you just said means a lot to me."

For the rest of the ride, it was silent in our carriage. No words were spoken and none were needed.

(Pov: Edmund)

That idiot! He totally did that on purpose. I wanted to join Emilia in her carriage but Peter had to ruin my plan. He is probably just jealous because Emilia and I get along so well. Well, bad for him, not everyone can be as awesome as me. I know that I should not think like this about my brother but it just makes me so angry… Fortunately we will arrive at the market in half an hour and then I will be able to talk to her again.

"What is up with you? You look ready to murder someone." Antonio is sitting in front of me with a questioning look on his face.

"Oh just forget it, it's nothing."

"Sure whatever you say." For a moment it seems like he wants to say something else but he quickly closes his mouth again.

"Just say it. I am not going to bite."

"I just…I wanted to…What is going on between you and my sister? When we arrived in the gardens you two looked pretty cozy."

"There is nothing going on between us. We just enjoy each others' company. Emilia is just a good friend to me, don't worry." I can feel the heat on my cheeks rising.

"If you say so. Just let me tell you that she's been through a lot. I did not see her smile or hear her laugh like this since our mother died. You make her happy and if she is happy then I am happy. And please don't even think about denying it. Even a fool could see the looks you two give each other when you guys think that the other one isn't watching."

"No really. There is nothing going on except friendship."

"Yeah whatever. Keep telling that yourself. Just don't be mad about her taking off with your darling brother because he got the guts to tell her how he feels before you."

"You also think that my brother fancies her?"

"I do not just think that, I know that. He is pretty obvious about it. I just don't think that he's the guy my sister is looking for."

Wow, so I am not the only one who noticed my bother's behaviour towards Emilia. But why does that make me so angry? Is Antonio right and I like her more then I want to admit? I really need to figure things out before realization hits in too late…

(Pov: Antonio)

Who is he trying to kid. Even Sandro noticed the way Emilia and Edmund react towards each other. This moment in the gardens today, is only the proof to our suspicions. Sadly both, Emilia and Edmund, are too blind to see what is standing in front of them. Maybe they just need a little push in the ride direction… and I know someone that would gladly assist me.


End file.
